1
|
Ullah Khan F, Khongorzul P, Gris D, Amrani A. Stat5b/Ezh2 axis governs high PD-L1 expressing tolerogenic dendritic cell subset in autoimmune diabetes. Int Immunopharmacol 2024; 133:112166. [PMID: 38678673 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2024.112166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Revised: 04/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen-presenting cells that play an important role in inducing and maintaining immune tolerance. The altered distribution and/or function of DCs contributes to defective tolerance in autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). In human T1D and in NOD mouse models, DCs share some defects and are often described as less tolerogenic and excessively immunogenic. In the NOD mouse model, the autoimmune response is associated with a defect in the Stat5b signaling pathway. We have reported that expressing a constitutively active form of Stat5b in DCs of transgenic NOD mice (NOD.Stat5b-CA), re-established their tolerogenic function, restored autoimmune tolerance and conferred protection from diabetes. However, the role and molecular mechanisms of Stat5b signaling in regulating splenic conventional DCs tolerogenic signature remained unclear. In this study, we reported that, compared to immunogenic splenic DCs of NOD, splenic DCs of NOD.Stat5b-CA mice exhibited a tolerogenic profile marked by elevated PD-L1 and PD-L2 expression, reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine production, increased frequency of the cDC2 subset and decreased frequency of the cDC1 subset. This tolerogenic profile was associated with increased Ezh2 and IRF4 but decreased IRF8 expression. We also found an upregulation of PD-L1 in the cDC1 subset and high PD-L1 and PD-L2 expression in cDC2 of NOD.Stat5b-CA mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that Ezh2 plays an important role in the maintenance of high PD-L1 expression in cDC1 and cDC2 subsets and that Ezh2 inhibition resulted in PD-L1 but not PD-L2 downregulation which was more drastic in the cDC2 subset. Additionally, Ezh2 inhibition severely reduced the cDC2 subset and increased the cDC1 subset and Stat5b-CA.DC pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Together our data suggest that the Stat5b-Ezh2 axis is critical for the maintenance of tolerogenic high PD-L1-expressing cDC2 and autoimmune tolerance in NOD.Stat5b-CA mice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Farhan Ullah Khan
- Department of Pediatrics, Immunology Division, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Centre de Recherche du CHUS, 3001, 12th Avenue North, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada
| | - Puregmaa Khongorzul
- Department of Pediatrics, Immunology Division, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Centre de Recherche du CHUS, 3001, 12th Avenue North, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada
| | - Denis Gris
- Department of Pediatrics, Immunology Division, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Centre de Recherche du CHUS, 3001, 12th Avenue North, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada
| | - Abdelaziz Amrani
- Department of Pediatrics, Immunology Division, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Centre de Recherche du CHUS, 3001, 12th Avenue North, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1H 5N4, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Lin X, Kang K, Chen P, Zeng Z, Li G, Xiong W, Yi M, Xiang B. Regulatory mechanisms of PD-1/PD-L1 in cancers. Mol Cancer 2024; 23:108. [PMID: 38762484 PMCID: PMC11102195 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-024-02023-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Immune evasion contributes to cancer growth and progression. Cancer cells have the ability to activate different immune checkpoint pathways that harbor immunosuppressive functions. The programmed death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligands (PD-Ls) are considered to be the major immune checkpoint molecules. The interaction of PD-1 and PD-L1 negatively regulates adaptive immune response mainly by inhibiting the activity of effector T cells while enhancing the function of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs), largely contributing to the maintenance of immune homeostasis that prevents dysregulated immunity and harmful immune responses. However, cancer cells exploit the PD-1/PD-L1 axis to cause immune escape in cancer development and progression. Blockade of PD-1/PD-L1 by neutralizing antibodies restores T cells activity and enhances anti-tumor immunity, achieving remarkable success in cancer therapy. Therefore, the regulatory mechanisms of PD-1/PD-L1 in cancers have attracted an increasing attention. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the roles of the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling in human autoimmune diseases and cancers. We summarize all aspects of regulatory mechanisms underlying the expression and activity of PD-1 and PD-L1 in cancers, including genetic, epigenetic, post-transcriptional and post-translational regulatory mechanisms. In addition, we further summarize the progress in clinical research on the antitumor effects of targeting PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies alone and in combination with other therapeutic approaches, providing new strategies for finding new tumor markers and developing combined therapeutic approaches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xin Lin
- NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Hunan Key Laboratory of Cancer Metabolism, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
- FuRong Laboratory, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
- Cancer Research Institute, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China
- The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
| | - Kuan Kang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Hunan Key Laboratory of Cancer Metabolism, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
- FuRong Laboratory, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
- Cancer Research Institute, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China
- The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
| | - Pan Chen
- NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Hunan Key Laboratory of Cancer Metabolism, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
| | - Zhaoyang Zeng
- NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Hunan Key Laboratory of Cancer Metabolism, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
- FuRong Laboratory, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
- Cancer Research Institute, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China
- The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
| | - Guiyuan Li
- NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Hunan Key Laboratory of Cancer Metabolism, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
- FuRong Laboratory, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
- Cancer Research Institute, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China
- The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
| | - Wei Xiong
- NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Hunan Key Laboratory of Cancer Metabolism, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
- FuRong Laboratory, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
- Cancer Research Institute, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China
- The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China
| | - Mei Yi
- Department of Dermotology, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China.
| | - Bo Xiang
- NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Hunan Key Laboratory of Cancer Metabolism, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China.
- FuRong Laboratory, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China.
- Cancer Research Institute, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China.
- The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China.
- Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Tongzipo Road, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Shi Y, Ye R, Gao Y, Xia F, Yu XF. A prognostic and immune related risk model based on zinc homeostasis in hepatocellular carcinoma. iScience 2024; 27:109389. [PMID: 38510110 PMCID: PMC10951649 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The dysfunction of zinc homeostasis participates in the early and advancing malignancy of HCC. However, the prognostic ability of zinc homeostasis in HCC has not been clarified yet. Here, we showed a zinc-homeostasis related risk model in HCC. Five signature genes including ADAMTS5, PLOD2, PTDSS2, KLRB1, and UCK2 were screened out via survival analyses and regression algorithms to construct the nomogram with clinical characteristics. Experimental researches indicated that UCK2 participated in the progression of HCC. Patients with higher risk scores always had worse outcomes and were more associated with immune suppression according to the analyses of immune related-pathway activation, cell infiltration, and gene expression. Moreover, these patients were likely to exhibit more sensitivity to sorafenib and other antitumor drugs. This study highlights the significant prognostic role of zinc homeostasis and suggests potential treatment strategies in HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yifei Shi
- Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Medical Sciences, Zhejiang Province, China), The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310016, P.R. China
| | - Runxin Ye
- Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Medical Sciences, Zhejiang Province, China), The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310016, P.R. China
| | - Yuan Gao
- Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Shaoxing People’s Hospital, Shaoxing 312035, P.R. China
| | - Fengyan Xia
- Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Medical Sciences, Zhejiang Province, China), The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310016, P.R. China
| | - Xiao-Fang Yu
- Cancer Institute (Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, China National Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Medical Sciences, Zhejiang Province, China), The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310016, P.R. China
- Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for CANCER, Hangzhou 310016, P.R. China
- Cancer Center of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310016, P.R. China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Huang J, Yin Q, Wang Y, Zhou X, Guo Y, Tang Y, Cheng R, Yu X, Zhang J, Huang C, Huang Z, Zhang J, Guo Z, Huo X, Sun Y, Li Y, Wang H, Yang J, Xue L. EZH2 Inhibition Enhances PD-L1 Protein Stability Through USP22-Mediated Deubiquitination in Colorectal Cancer. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024:e2308045. [PMID: 38520088 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202308045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
The regulation of PD-L1 is the key question, which largely determines the outcome of the immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) based therapy. However, besides the transcription level, the protein stability of PD-L1 is closely correlated with its function and has drawn increasing attention. In this study, EZH2 inhibition enhances PD-L1 expression and protein stability, and the deubiquitinase ubiquitin-specific peptidase 22 (USP22) is identified as a key mediator in this process. EZH2 inhibition transcriptionally upregulates USP22 expression, and upregulated USP22 further stabilizes PD-L1. Importantly, a combination of EZH2 inhibitors with anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade therapy improves the tumor microenvironment, enhances sensitivity to immunotherapy, and exerts synergistic anticancer effects. In addition, knocking down USP22 can potentially enhance the therapeutic efficacy of EZH2 inhibitors on colon cancer. These findings unveil the novel role of EZH2 inhibitors in tumor immune evasion by upregulating PD-L1, and this drawback can be compensated by combining ICI immunotherapy. Therefore, these findings provide valuable insights into the EZH2-USP22-PD-L1 regulatory axis, shedding light on the optimization of combining both immune checkpoint blockade and EZH2 inhibitor-based epigenetic therapies to achieve more efficacies and accuracy in cancer treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Huang
- Peking University Third Hospital Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Qianqian Yin
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Biobank, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Yuqing Wang
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xin Zhou
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Department of General Surgery, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Yunyun Guo
- Peking University Third Hospital Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Yuanjun Tang
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Rui Cheng
- Peking University Third Hospital Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xiaotong Yu
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Chen Huang
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Zhanya Huang
- Peking University Third Hospital Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Jianlin Zhang
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Zhengyang Guo
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Xiao Huo
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Biobank, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Yan Sun
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Yanfang Li
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Hao Wang
- Peking University Third Hospital Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Jianling Yang
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Lixiang Xue
- Peking University Third Hospital Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Center of Basic Medical Research, Institute of Medical Innovation and Research, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Biobank, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Cancer Center of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, 100191, China
- Medicine Innovation Center for Fundamental Research on Major Immunology-related Diseases, Beijing, 100191, China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Hou K, Xu X, Ge X, Jiang J, Ouyang F. Blockade of PD-1 and CTLA-4: A potent immunotherapeutic approach for hepatocellular carcinoma. Biofactors 2024; 50:250-265. [PMID: 37921427 DOI: 10.1002/biof.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Immune checkpoints (ICPs) can promote tumor growth and prevent immunity-induced cancer cell apoptosis. Fortunately, targeting ICPs, such as programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) or cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), has achieved great success in the past few years and has gradually become an effective treatment for cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, many patients do not respond to ICP therapy due to acquired resistance and recurrence. Therefore, clarifying the specific mechanisms of ICP in the development of HCC is very important for enhancing the efficacy of anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 therapy. In particular, antigen presentation and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) signaling were reported to be involved in the development of resistance. In this review, we have explained the role and regulatory mechanisms of ICP therapy in HCC pathology. Moreover, we have also elaborated on combinations of ICP inhibitors and other treatments to enhance the antitumor effect. Collectively, recent advances in the pharmacological targeting of ICPs provide insights for the development of a novel alternative treatment for HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kai Hou
- Clinical Research Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, PR China
| | - Xiaohui Xu
- Department of Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, PR China
| | - Xin Ge
- Clinical Research Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, PR China
| | - Jiacen Jiang
- Department of Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, PR China
| | - Fan Ouyang
- Department of Cardiology, Zhuzhou Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Xiangya Medical College of Central South University, Zhuzhou, Hunan, PR China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Singh V, Nandi S, Ghosh A, Adhikary S, Mukherjee S, Roy S, Das C. Epigenetic reprogramming of T cells: unlocking new avenues for cancer immunotherapy. Cancer Metastasis Rev 2024; 43:175-195. [PMID: 38233727 DOI: 10.1007/s10555-024-10167-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
T cells, a key component of cancer immunotherapy, undergo a variety of histone modifications and DNA methylation changes since their bone marrow progenitor stages before developing into CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. These T cell types can be categorized into distinct subtypes based on their functionality and properties, such as cytotoxic T cells (Tc), helper T cells (Th), and regulatory T cells (Treg) as subtypes for CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Among these, the CD4+ CD25+ Tregs potentially contribute to cancer development and progression by lowering T effector (Teff) cell activity under the influence of the tumor microenvironment (TME). This contributes to the development of therapeutic resistance in patients with cancer. Subsequently, these individuals become resistant to monoclonal antibody therapy as well as clinically established immunotherapies. In this review, we delineate the different epigenetic mechanisms in cancer immune response and its involvement in therapeutic resistance. Furthermore, the possibility of epi-immunotherapeutic methods based on histone deacetylase inhibitors and histone methyltransferase inhibitors are under investigation. In this review we highlight EZH2 as the principal driver of cancer cell immunoediting and an immune escape regulator. We have addressed in detail how understanding T cell epigenetic regulation might bring unique inventive strategies to overcome drug resistance and increase the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vipin Singh
- Biophysics and Structural Genomics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata, 700064, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, 400094, India
| | - Sandhik Nandi
- Biophysics and Structural Genomics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata, 700064, India
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, 400094, India
| | - Aritra Ghosh
- Biophysics and Structural Genomics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata, 700064, India
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, India
| | - Santanu Adhikary
- Biophysics and Structural Genomics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata, 700064, India
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4 Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata, 700032, India
| | - Shravanti Mukherjee
- Biophysics and Structural Genomics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata, 700064, India
| | - Siddhartha Roy
- Structural Biology & Bio-Informatics Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, 4 Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata, 700032, India
| | - Chandrima Das
- Biophysics and Structural Genomics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata, 700064, India.
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, 400094, India.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Perevalova AM, Gulyaeva LF, Pustylnyak VO. Roles of Interferon Regulatory Factor 1 in Tumor Progression and Regression: Two Sides of a Coin. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2153. [PMID: 38396830 PMCID: PMC10889282 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25042153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2024] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
IRF1 is a transcription factor well known for its role in IFN signaling. Although IRF1 was initially identified for its involvement in inflammatory processes, there is now evidence that it provides a function in carcinogenesis as well. IRF1 has been shown to affect several important antitumor mechanisms, such as induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, remodeling of tumor immune microenvironment, suppression of telomerase activity, suppression of angiogenesis and others. Nevertheless, the opposite effects of IRF1 on tumor growth have also been demonstrated. In particular, the "immune checkpoint" molecule PD-L1, which is responsible for tumor immune evasion, has IRF1 as a major transcriptional regulator. These and several other properties of IRF1, including its proposed association with response and resistance to immunotherapy and several chemotherapeutic drugs, make it a promising object for further research. Numerous mechanisms of IRF1 regulation in cancer have been identified, including genetic, epigenetic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational mechanisms, although their significance for tumor progression remains to be explored. This review will focus on the established tumor-suppressive and tumor-promoting functions of IRF1, as well as the molecular mechanisms of IRF1 regulation identified in various cancers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alina M. Perevalova
- Zelman Institute for the Medicine and Psychology, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova Street, 1, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia; (A.M.P.)
- Federal Research Center of Fundamental and Translational Medicine, Timakova Street, 2/12, Novosibirsk 630117, Russia
| | - Lyudmila F. Gulyaeva
- Zelman Institute for the Medicine and Psychology, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova Street, 1, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia; (A.M.P.)
- Federal Research Center of Fundamental and Translational Medicine, Timakova Street, 2/12, Novosibirsk 630117, Russia
| | - Vladimir O. Pustylnyak
- Zelman Institute for the Medicine and Psychology, Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova Street, 1, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia; (A.M.P.)
- Federal Research Center of Fundamental and Translational Medicine, Timakova Street, 2/12, Novosibirsk 630117, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Liu F, Zhang X, Lu M, Liu C, Zhang X, Chu Q, Chen Y, Zhang P. The association of genomic alterations with PD-L1 expression in Chinese patients with EGFR/ALK wild-type lung adenocarcinoma and potential predictive value of Hippo pathway mutations to immunotherapy. Cancer Med 2024; 13:e7038. [PMID: 38396367 PMCID: PMC10891359 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.7038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The study focuses on PD-L1 expression as an essential biomarker for gauging the response of EGFR/ALK wild-type NSCLC patients to FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). It aims to explore clinical, molecular, and immune microenvironment characteristics associated with PD-L1 expression in EGFR/ALK wild-type lung adenocarcinoma patients eligible for ICI therapy. METHODS In this retrospective study, tumor samples from 359 Chinese EGFR/ALK wild-type lung adenocarcinoma patients underwent comprehensive evaluations for PD-L1 expression and NGS-targeted sequencing. The investigation encompassed the analysis and comparison of clinical traits, gene mutations, pathways, and immune signatures between two groups categorized by PD-L1 status: negative (TPS < 1%) and positive (TPS ≥ 1%). Additionally, the study explored the link between genomic changes and outcomes following immunotherapy. RESULTS High tumor mutational burden correlated significantly with PD-L1 positivity in patients with EGFR/ALK wild-type lung adenocarcinoma. Gene alterations, including TP53, KRAS, and others, were more pronounced in the PD-L1 positive group. Pathway analysis highlighted higher frequencies of alterations in pathways like RTK/RAS, p53, and Hippo in PD-L1-positive patients. The Hippo pathway's relevance was confirmed in separate immunotherapy cohorts, associated with better outcomes. In terms of immune cell infiltration, Hippo mutants exhibited higher levels of CD68+ PD-L1+ macrophages, CD8+ T cells, and CD8+ PD-1- T cells. CONCLUSIONS This study offers insights into genomic features of Chinese EGFR/ALK wild-type lung adenocarcinoma patients based on PD-L1 expression. Notably, Hippo pathway alterations were linked to improved immunotherapy outcomes. These findings suggest connections between the Hippo pathway and PD-L1 expression, warranting further clinical and functional investigations. The research advances our understanding of PD-L1 expression's genomic context and immunotherapy response in EGFR/ALK wild-type lung adenocarcinoma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fangfang Liu
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Xuemei Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Mengyao Lu
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Chun Liu
- Genecast Biotechnology Co., LtdWuxiJiangsuChina
| | | | - Qian Chu
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Yuan Chen
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Peng Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Michalczuk MT, Longo L, Keingeski MB, Basso BDS, Guerreiro GTS, Ferrari JT, Vargas JE, Oliveira CP, Uribe-Cruz C, Cerski CTS, Filippi-Chiela E, Álvares-da-Silva MR. Rifaximin on epigenetics and autophagy in animal model of hepatocellular carcinoma secondary to metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease. World J Hepatol 2024; 16:75-90. [PMID: 38313241 PMCID: PMC10835481 DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v16.i1.75] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing, especially in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). AIM To investigate rifaximin (RIF) effects on epigenetic/autophagy markers in animals. METHODS Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned (n = 8, each) and treated from 5-16 wk: Control [standard diet, water plus gavage with vehicle (Veh)], HCC [high-fat choline deficient diet (HFCD), diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in drinking water and Veh gavage], and RIF [HFCD, DEN and RIF (50 mg/kg/d) gavage]. Gene expression of epigenetic/autophagy markers and circulating miRNAs were obtained. RESULTS All HCC and RIF animals developed metabolic-dysfunction associated steatohepatitis fibrosis, and cirrhosis, but three RIF-group did not develop HCC. Comparing animals who developed HCC with those who did not, miR-122, miR-34a, tubulin alpha-1c (Tuba-1c), metalloproteinases-2 (Mmp2), and metalloproteinases-9 (Mmp9) were significantly higher in the HCC-group. The opposite occurred with Becn1, coactivator associated arginine methyltransferase-1 (Carm1), enhancer of zeste homolog-2 (Ezh2), autophagy-related factor LC3A/B (Map1 Lc3b), and p62/sequestosome-1 (p62/SQSTM1)-protein. Comparing with controls, Map1 Lc3b, Becn1 and Ezh2 were lower in HCC and RIF-groups (P < 0.05). Carm1 was lower in HCC compared to RIF (P < 0.05). Hepatic expression of Mmp9 was higher in HCC in relation to the control; the opposite was observed for p62/Sqstm1 (P < 0.05). Expression of p62/SQSTM1 protein was lower in the RIF-group compared to the control (P = 0.024). There was no difference among groups for Tuba-1c, Aldolase-B, alpha-fetoprotein, and Mmp2 (P > 0.05). miR-122 was higher in HCC, and miR-34a in RIF compared to controls (P < 0.05). miR-26b was lower in HCC compared to RIF, and the inverse was observed for miR-224 (P < 0.05). There was no difference among groups regarding miR-33a, miR-143, miR-155, miR-375 and miR-21 (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION RIF might have a possible beneficial effect on preventing/delaying liver carcinogenesis through epigenetic modulation in a rat model of MASLD-HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matheus Truccolo Michalczuk
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Larisse Longo
- Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Experimental Laboratory of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Melina Belén Keingeski
- Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Experimental Laboratory of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Bruno de Souza Basso
- Experimental Laboratory of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Gabriel Tayguara Silveira Guerreiro
- Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Experimental Laboratory of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Jessica T Ferrari
- Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - José Eduardo Vargas
- Laboratory of Inflammatory and Neoplastic Cells, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Paraná 81530900, Brazil
| | - Cláudia P Oliveira
- Department of Gastroenterology (LIM07), Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246903, Brazil
| | - Carolina Uribe-Cruz
- Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Experimental Laboratory of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Católica de las Misiones, Posadas, Misiones 3300, Argentina
| | - Carlos Thadeu Schmidt Cerski
- Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Unit of Surgical Pathology, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Eduardo Filippi-Chiela
- Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Center of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Department of Morphological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90.050-170, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Mário Reis Álvares-da-Silva
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Graduate Program in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90035-003, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Experimental Laboratory of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre 90035-903, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Researcher, Brasília 71.605-001, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Chen Z, Yao MW, Ao X, Gong QJ, Yang Y, Liu JX, Lian QZ, Xu X, Zuo LJ. The expression mechanism of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 and its role in immunomodulatory ability of mesenchymal stem cells. Chin J Traumatol 2024; 27:1-10. [PMID: 38065706 PMCID: PMC10859298 DOI: 10.1016/j.cjtee.2023.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) is an important immunosuppressive molecule, which inhibits the function of T cells and other immune cells by binding to the receptor programmed cell death-1. The PD-L1 expression disorder plays an important role in the occurrence, development, and treatment of sepsis or other inflammatory diseases, and has become an important target for the treatment of these diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a kind of pluripotent stem cells with multiple differentiation potential. In recent years, MSCs have been found to have a strong immunosuppressive ability and are used to treat various inflammatory insults caused by hyperimmune diseases. Moreover, PD-L1 is deeply involved in the immunosuppressive events of MSCs and plays an important role in the treatment of various diseases. In this review, we will summarize the main regulatory mechanism of PD-L1 expression, and discuss various biological functions of PD-L1 in the immune regulation of MSCs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhuo Chen
- Department of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400042, China; College of Basic Medical Sciences, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Meng-Wei Yao
- Department of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400042, China
| | - Xiang Ao
- Department of Orthopedics, 953 Hospital of PLA, Shigatse Branch of Xinqiao Hospital, Army Medical University, Shigatse, 857000, Tibet Autonomous Region, China
| | - Qing-Jia Gong
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China
| | - Yi Yang
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400042, China
| | - Jin-Xia Liu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chongqing People's Hospital, Chongqing, 401121, China
| | - Qi-Zhou Lian
- Department of Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiang Xu
- Department of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400042, China.
| | - Ling-Jing Zuo
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First People's Hospital of Yunnan province, Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650034, China.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Hao L, Li S, Deng J, Li N, Yu F, Jiang Z, Zhang J, Shi X, Hu X. The current status and future of PD-L1 in liver cancer. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1323581. [PMID: 38155974 PMCID: PMC10754529 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1323581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The application of immunotherapy in tumor, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), has played an important role in the treatment of advanced unresectable liver cancer. However, the efficacy of ICIs varies greatly among different patients, which has aroused people's attention to the regulatory mechanism of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in the immune escape of liver cancer. PD-L1 is regulated by multiple levels and signaling pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), including gene variation, epigenetic inheritance, transcriptional regulation, post-transcriptional regulation, and post-translational modification. More studies have also found that the high expression of PD-L1 may be the main factor affecting the immunotherapy of liver cancer. However, what is the difference of PD-L1 expressed by different types of cells in the microenvironment of HCC, and which type of cells expressed PD-L1 determines the effect of tumor immunotherapy remains unclear. Therefore, clarifying the regulatory mechanism of PD-L1 in liver cancer can provide more basis for liver cancer immunotherapy and combined immune treatment strategy. In addition to its well-known role in immune regulation, PD-L1 also plays a role in regulating cancer cell proliferation and promoting drug resistance of tumor cells, which will be reviewed in this paper. In addition, we also summarized the natural products and drugs that regulated the expression of PD-L1 in HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Liyuan Hao
- School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Shenghao Li
- School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Clinical Research Center, Shijiazhuang Fifth Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
| | - Jiali Deng
- School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Na Li
- School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Fei Yu
- School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhi Jiang
- School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Junli Zhang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xinli Shi
- Center of Experimental Management, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong, China
| | - Xiaoyu Hu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Liu Y, Peng Y, Du W, Yu C, Peng Z, Qin L, Ma Y, Wu X, Peng Y, Cheng X, Xia L, Fa H, Wu Y, Sun L, Liu J, Liu Z, Shang Y, Wang S, Liang J. PD-L1-mediated immune evasion in triple-negative breast cancer is linked to the loss of ZNF652. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113343. [PMID: 37906592 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The intrinsic regulation of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression remains unclear. Here, we report that zinc-finger protein 652 (ZNF652) is a potent transcription repressor of PD-L1. ZNF652 frequently experiences loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in various cancers. Higher LOH rate and lack of estrogen-inducible transcription lead to suppressed expression of ZNF652 in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Mechanistically, ZNF652 is physically associated with the NuRD transcription co-repressor complex to repress a cohort of genes, including PD-L1. Overexpression of ZNF652 inhibits PD-L1 transcription, whereas depletion of ZNF652 upregulates PD-L1. Loss of ZNF652 in TNBC unleashes PD-L1-mediated immune evasion both in vitro and in vivo. Significantly, ZNF652 expression is progressively lost during breast cancer progression, and a low ZNF652 level is correlated with elevated PD-L1 expression, less infiltrated CD8+ T cells, and poor prognosis in TNBC. Our study provides insights into PD-L1 regulation and supports the pursuit of ZNF652 as a potential biomarker and drug target for breast cancer immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuncheng Liu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yuan Peng
- Breast Disease Center, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Wei Du
- Breast Disease Center, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Chunyu Yu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Zijun Peng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Leyi Qin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yilei Ma
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Xin Wu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yani Peng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Xiao Cheng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Lu Xia
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Hangwei Fa
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yuqing Wu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Luyang Sun
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Jianying Liu
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Zhihua Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100021, China
| | - Yongfeng Shang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, China
| | - Shu Wang
- Breast Disease Center, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing 100044, China.
| | - Jing Liang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Wang K, Jiang X, Jiang Y, Liu J, Du Y, Zhang Z, Li Y, Zhao X, Li J, Zhang R. EZH2-H3K27me3-mediated silencing of mir-139-5p inhibits cellular senescence in hepatocellular carcinoma by activating TOP2A. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2023; 42:320. [PMID: 38008711 PMCID: PMC10680220 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-023-02855-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epigenetic alterations play an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is a well-known epigenetic modifier that functions as an oncogene in tumors by promoting the H3K27me3-mediated transcriptional repression of tumor suppressor genes. "Senescent cells" has been proposed as a possible core component of the hallmarks of cancer conceptualization. Induction of cell senescence and targeted elimination of these senescent tumor cells are new strategies for tumor therapy. However, the role of EZH2 in regulating cellular senescence remains poorly understood. METHODS Bioinformatics analyses suggested that EZH2 and DNA topoisomerase II alpha (TOP2A) are coexpressed in tumors, including HCC. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses and gene set enrichment analyses (GSEA) suggests a correlation of EZH2 and TOP2A expression with cellular senescence in HCC. MicroRNA (miRNA) inhibitor and mimics, siRNA, PLKO-shRNA, and plenti6.3-miR-139 were used to upregulate or downregulate the expression of target genes. CCK8, EdU, clone formation, and senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining assays were performed to assess cell proliferation and cellular senescence phenotypes. Dual-luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed to investigate the targeted binding and inhibition of TOP2A 3' untranslated region (UTR) by miR-139-5p and the DNA enrichment of miR139-5p by EZH2 and H3K27me3. BALB/c nude mice were used to establish a xenograft tumor model and verify the phenotypes upon EZH2 and TOP2A silencing and miR-139 overexpression in vivo. In addition, tissue microarrays were used to analyze the expression patterns and correlations among EZH2, TOP2A, and miR-139-5p expression in HCC. RESULTS Bioinformatics analysis revealed that EZH2 and TOP2A are coexpressed in HCC. In vitro gain- and loss-of-function experiments showed that inhibition of EZH2 and TOP2A induces cellular senescence and inhibits proliferation of HCC cells. In vivo tumorigenesis assays indicated that EZH2 and TOP2A knockdown inhibits tumorigenesis by inducing cellular senescence. Mechanistically, EZH2 promotes TOP2A expression by regulating the H3K27me3-mediated epigenetic silencing of miR-139-5p. TOP2A is a direct target of miR-139-5p, and inhibition of miR-139-5p can reverse the promotion by EZH2 of TOP2A expression. The overexpression of miR-139-5p induces cellular senescence and inhibits proliferation of HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Clinically, expression of EZH2 and TOP2A are higher in HCC tissues than in normal tissues, and this high coexpression indicates a worse outcome of patients with HCC. Moreover, expression of EZH2 and TOP2A is significantly correlated with tumor differentiation grade, tumor invasion, and TNM stage in HCC. miR-139-5p expression is lower in HCC tumors than in normal tissues and is correlated with better prognosis of HCC patients. CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed the role of the EZH2/miR-139-5p/TOP2A axis in regulating cellular senescence and cell proliferation in HCC, enriching the molecular mechanisms of EZH2-mediated epigenetic regulation in HCC. Therefore, our results provide insight into the therapeutic potential of targeting EZH2 to induce cellular senescence and then destroy senescent cells for HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ke Wang
- Department of digestive surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
- Department of General Surgery, Central Theater Command General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Wuhan, 430064, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Xunliang Jiang
- Department of digestive surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Yu Jiang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, XI'AN DAXING hospital, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Jun Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Yongtao Du
- Department of digestive surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Zecheng Zhang
- Department of digestive surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Yunlong Li
- Department of digestive surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China
| | - Xinhui Zhao
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Xi'an No.3 Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Northwest University, Xi'an, 710018, China
| | - Jipeng Li
- Department of digestive surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
- Department of Experimental Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
| | - Rui Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Immunology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Liang Y, Wang L, Ma P, Ju D, Zhao M, Shi Y. Enhancing anti-tumor immune responses through combination therapies: epigenetic drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1308264. [PMID: 38077327 PMCID: PMC10704038 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1308264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic mechanisms are processes that affect gene expression and cellular functions without involving changes in the DNA sequence. This abnormal or unstable expression of genes regulated by epigenetics can trigger cancer and other various diseases. The immune cells involved in anti-tumor responses and the immunogenicity of tumors may also be affected by epigenomic changes. This holds significant implications for the development and application of cancer immunotherapy, epigenetic therapy, and their combined treatments in the fight against cancer. We provide an overview of recent research literature focusing on how epigenomic changes in immune cells influence immune cell behavior and function, as well as the immunogenicity of cancer cells. And the combined utilization of epigenetic medications with immune checkpoint inhibitors that focus on immune checkpoint molecules [e.g., Programmed Death 1 (PD-1), Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-Associated Protein 4 (CTLA-4), T cell Immunoglobulin and Mucin Domain (TIM-3), Lymphocyte Activation Gene-3 (LAG-3)] present in immune cells and stromal cells associated with tumors. We highlight the potential of small-molecule inhibitors targeting epigenetic regulators to amplify anti-tumor immune responses. Moreover, we discuss how to leverage the intricate relationship between cancer epigenetics and cancer immunology to create treatment regimens that integrate epigenetic therapies with immunotherapies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ying Liang
- Precision Pharmacy and Drug Development Center, Department of Pharmacy, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Lingling Wang
- Wuchang Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan Wuchang Hospital, Wuhan, China
| | - Peijun Ma
- Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Dongen Ju
- Department of Urology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Minggao Zhao
- Precision Pharmacy and Drug Development Center, Department of Pharmacy, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yun Shi
- Department of Immunology and Theranostics, Arthur Riggs Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, Duarte, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
James JL, Taylor BC, Axelrod ML, Sun X, Guerin LN, Gonzalez-Ericsson PI, Wang Y, Sanchez V, Fahey CC, Sanders ME, Xu Y, Hodges E, Johnson DB, Balko JM. Polycomb repressor complex 2 suppresses interferon-responsive MHC-II expression in melanoma cells and is associated with anti-PD-1 resistance. J Immunother Cancer 2023; 11:e007736. [PMID: 38315170 PMCID: PMC10660662 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2023-007736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite the remarkable success of immunotherapy in treating melanoma, understanding of the underlying mechanisms of resistance remains limited. Emerging evidence suggests that upregulation of tumor-specific major histocompatibility complex-II (tsMHC-II) serves as a predictive marker for the response to anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy in various cancer types. The genetic and epigenetic pathways modulating tsMHC-II expression remain incompletely characterized. Here, we provide evidence that polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)/EZH2 signaling and resulting H3K27 hypermethylation suppresses tsMHC-II. METHODS RNA sequencing data from tumor biopsies from patients with cutaneous melanoma treated with or without anti-PD-1, targeted inhibition assays, and assays for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing were used to observe the relationship between EZH2 inhibition and interferon (IFN)-γ inducibility within the MHC-II pathway. RESULTS We find that increased EZH2 pathway messenger RNA (mRNA) expression correlates with reduced mRNA expression of both presentation and T-cell genes. Notably, targeted inhibition assays revealed that inhibition of EZH2 influences the expression dynamics and inducibility of the MHC-II pathway following IFN-γ stimulation. Additionally, our analysis of patients with metastatic melanoma revealed a significant inverse association between PRC2-related gene expression and response to anti-PD-1 therapy. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our findings demonstrate that EZH2 inhibition leads to enhanced MHC-II expression potentially resulting from improved chromatin accessibility at CIITA, the master regulator of MHC-II. These insights shed light on the molecular mechanisms involved in tsMHC-II suppression and highlight the potential of targeting EZH2 as a therapeutic strategy to improve immunotherapy efficacy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jamaal L James
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Brandie C Taylor
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Margaret L Axelrod
- Department of Medicine, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Xiaopeng Sun
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Lindsey N Guerin
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Paula I Gonzalez-Ericsson
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Breast Cancer Research Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Yu Wang
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Violeta Sanchez
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Catherine C Fahey
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Hematology/Oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Melinda E Sanders
- Breast Cancer Research Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Yaomin Xu
- Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Emily Hodges
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Douglas B Johnson
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Justin M Balko
- Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Breast Cancer Research Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Yu X, Fan X, Zhang X, Wei P, Zhou H, Liu D, Chen B. miR-429 inhibits the formation of an immunosuppressive microenvironment to counteract hepatocellular carcinoma immune escape by targeting PD-L1. Funct Integr Genomics 2023; 23:312. [PMID: 37775648 DOI: 10.1007/s10142-023-01231-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in immunotherapeutic approaches have the potential to bring new hope to the treatment of pancreatic cancer. The tumor microenvironment contributes significantly to tumor development and progression. In this study, miR-429 overexpression was found to inhibit proliferation, invasion, and clonogenicity while promoting apoptosis in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, co-culture of miR-429-overpressing or silenced HepG2 cells with PBMCs showed that miR-429 induced CD4+ and CD8+ T cell infiltration, decreased the numbers of Tregs, inhibited CD8+ T cell apoptosis and exhaustion, and enhanced CD8+ T cell functions in PBMCs. miR-429 was found to prevent an immunosuppressive HCC microenvironment by targeting and suppressing PD-L1. In a C57BL/6 mouse subcutaneous xenograft tumor model, overexpression of miR-429 reduced tumorigenesis and both tumor volumes and weights were decreased relative to controls. In addition, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were increased, Tregs were reduced, and CD8+ T cell apoptosis and depletion were reduced in the tumor tissues induced by miR-429-overexpressing HepG2 cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xuehai Yu
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, The General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, Ningxia, China
| | - Xiongwei Fan
- Department of General Surgery, Wuzhong People's Hospital Affiliated to Ningxia Medical University, Wuzhong, 751100, Ningxia, China
| | - Xusheng Zhang
- School of Clinical Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, Ningxia, China
| | - Peng Wei
- School of Clinical Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, Ningxia, China
| | - Hongcai Zhou
- School of Clinical Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, Ningxia, China
| | - Di Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, Ningxia, China
| | - Bendong Chen
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750004, Ningxia, China.
- Ningxia Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgical Diseases Clinical Research Center, Yinchuan, 750004, Ningxia, China.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Zhao H, Liu H, Kang W, Zhan C, Man Y, Qu T. Analysis on EZH2: mechanism identification of related CeRNA and its immunoassay in hepatocellular carcinoma. BMC Med Genomics 2023; 16:201. [PMID: 37626362 PMCID: PMC10463302 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-023-01594-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To screen the possible potential signaling pathways related to enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) based on ceRNA mechanism, and to analyze the correlation between E2H2 and depths of various immune cell infiltration depths. The relationship between different immune checkpoints were also analyzed. METHODS First, the expression of EZH2 in pan-cancer (18 malignancies) was analyzed with the TCGA database. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues of 374 cases and normal tissues of 50 cases were analyzed in terms of the differential expression, overall survival (OS) and progression-free-survival (PFS). Then, we conducted GO and KEGG enrichment analysis on target gene. We also analyzed mRNA-miRNA and MicroRNA (miRNA)- long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) correlation with starbase databse, so as to determine the potential ceRNA mechanism associated with EZH2. Finally, immunoassay and drug-sensitivity analysis of EZH2 was performed. RESULTS Seven potential EZH2-related ceRNA pathways were screened out, namely lncRNA: Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 1 (SNHG1), SNHG 3, and SNHG 6-miR-101-3p-EZH2; and lncRNA: Long Intergenic Non-Protein Coding RNA 1978 (LINC01978), SNHG12, Ring Finger Protein 216 Pseudogene 1 (RNF216P1), and Coiled-coil Domain Containing 18 Antisense RNA 1 (CCDC18-AS1)-let-7c-5p-EZH2. Finally, 4 potential EZH2-related ceRNA pathways were identified through qPCR.According to immune correlation analysis, EZH2 may be positively correlated with T cells follicular helper, T cells Cluster of differentiation (CD)4 memory activated, Macrophages M0, and B cells memory (P < 0.05, cof > 0.2); while be negatively correlated with T cells CD4 + memory resting (P < 0.05, cof < -0.2). And EZH2 is positively correlated with Programmed Cell Death 1 (PDCD1) (R = 0.22), CD274 (R = 0.3) and Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Associated Protein 4 (CTLA4) (R = 0.23). According to drug sensitivity analysis, patients in the high expression group were more susceptible to the effects of various drugs including Sorafenib, 5-Fluorouracil, Doxorubicin, Etoposide, Paclitaxel, and Vinorelbine than those with low expression. CONCLUSION This study revealed seven potential pathways of Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2)-related ceRNA mechanisms: lncRNA (SNHG3, 6) -Mir-101-3P-ezh2; lncRNA (SNHG12, RNF216P1)-let-7c-5p-EZH2. We also analyzed the immunity and drug sensitivity of EZH2. Our study proves that EZH2 still has great research prospects in HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haoran Zhao
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150040, China
| | - Haishi Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150040, China
| | - Wenli Kang
- Department of Oncology, Beidahuang Industry Group General Hospital, No. 235 Hashuang Road, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150088, China
| | - Chao Zhan
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150040, China
| | - Yingchun Man
- Department of Oncology, Beidahuang Industry Group General Hospital, No. 235 Hashuang Road, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150088, China.
| | - Tong Qu
- Department of Oncology, Beidahuang Industry Group General Hospital, No. 235 Hashuang Road, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, 150088, China.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Lee SH, Kim SH, Nam TM, Jang JH, Kim KH, Lee YS, Kim MS, Kim MS, Jin SY, Lee M, Lee SH, Kim YZ. Epigenetic Regulation of the Expression of T Cell Stimulatory and Inhibitory Factors by Histone H3 Lysine Modification Enzymes and Its Prognostic Roles in Glioblastoma. J Korean Med Sci 2023; 38:e258. [PMID: 37605497 PMCID: PMC10442499 DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aimed to identify the specific T cell co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory factors that play prognostic roles in patients with glioblastoma. Additionally, the unique histone H3 modification enzymes that regulate the expression levels of these specific co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory factors were investigated. METHODS The medical records of 84 patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma at our institution from January 2006 to December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for T cell co-stimulatory factors (CD27, CD28, CD137, OX40, and ICOS), T cell co-inhibitory factors (CTLA4, PD1, PD-L1, TIM3, and CD200R), and histone H3 lysine modification enzymes (MLL4, RIZ, EZH1, NSD2, KDM5c, JMJD1a, UTX, and JMJD5) was performed on archived paraffin-embedded tissues obtained by biopsy or resection. Quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed for specific factors, which demonstrated causal relationships, in order to validate the findings of the IHC examinations. RESULTS The mean follow-up duration was 27.5 months (range, 4.1-43.5 months). During this period, 76 patients (90.5%) died, and the mean OS was 19.4 months (95% confidence interval, 16.3-20.9 months). Linear positive correlations were observed between the expression levels of CD28 and JMJD1a (R2 linear = 0.982) and those of CD137 and UTX (R2 linear = 1.528). Alternatively, significant negative correlations were observed between the expression levels of CTLA4 and RIZ (R2 linear = -1.746) and those of PD-L1 and EZH1 (R2 linear = -2.118); these relationships were confirmed by qRT-PCR. In the multivariate analysis, increased expression levels of CD28 (P = 0.042), and CD137 (P = 0.009), and decreased expression levels of CTLA4 (P = 0.003), PD-L1 (P = 0.020), and EZH1 (P = 0.040) were significantly associated with longer survival. CONCLUSION These findings suggest that the expression of certain T cell co-stimulatory factors, such as CD28 and CD 137, and co-inhibitory factors, such as CTLA4 and PD-L1 are associated with prognosis of glioblastoma patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sang Hyuk Lee
- Department of Neurosurgery, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea
| | - Seung Hwan Kim
- Department of Neurosurgery, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea
| | - Taek Min Nam
- Department of Neurosurgery, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea
| | - Ji Hwan Jang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea
| | - Kyu Hong Kim
- Department of Neurosurgery, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea
| | - Young-Sam Lee
- Department of New Biology, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, Korea
- Well Aging Research Center, Division of Biotechnology, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, Korea
| | - Minseok S Kim
- Department of New Biology, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, Korea
- Translational Responsive Medicine Center, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Daegu, Korea
| | - Mee-Seon Kim
- Department of Pathology, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, Korea
| | - Sung Yup Jin
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea
| | - Moonok Lee
- Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea
| | - Sung-Hun Lee
- Cancer Research Institute, Clinomics Inc., Suwon, Korea
| | - Young Zoon Kim
- Department of Neurosurgery, Samsung Changwon Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Rialdi A, Duffy M, Scopton AP, Fonseca F, Zhao JN, Schwarz M, Molina-Sanchez P, Mzoughi S, Arceci E, Abril-Fornaguera J, Meadows A, Ruiz de Galarreta M, Torre D, Reyes K, Lim YT, Rosemann F, Khan ZM, Mohammed K, Wang X, Yu X, Lakshmanan M, Rajarethinam R, Tan SY, Jin J, Villanueva A, Michailidis E, De Jong YP, Rice CM, Marazzi I, Hasson D, Llovet JM, Sobota RM, Lujambio A, Guccione E, Dar AC. WNTinib is a multi-kinase inhibitor with specificity against β-catenin mutant hepatocellular carcinoma. NATURE CANCER 2023; 4:1157-1175. [PMID: 37537299 PMCID: PMC10948969 DOI: 10.1038/s43018-023-00609-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. β-Catenin (CTNNB1)-mutated HCC represents 30% of cases of the disease with no precision therapeutics available. Using chemical libraries derived from clinical multi-kinase inhibitor (KI) scaffolds, we screened HCC organoids to identify WNTinib, a KI with exquisite selectivity in CTNNB1-mutated human and murine models, including patient samples. Multiomic and target engagement analyses, combined with rescue experiments and in vitro and in vivo efficacy studies, revealed that WNTinib is superior to clinical KIs and inhibits KIT/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling at multiple nodes. Moreover, we demonstrate that reduced engagement on BRAF and p38α kinases by WNTinib relative to several multi-KIs is necessary to avoid compensatory feedback signaling-providing a durable and selective transcriptional repression of mutant β-catenin/Wnt targets through nuclear translocation of the EZH2 transcriptional repressor. Our studies uncover a previously unknown mechanism to harness the KIT/MAPK/EZH2 pathway to potently and selectively antagonize CTNNB1-mutant HCC with an unprecedented wide therapeutic index.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alex Rialdi
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mary Duffy
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alex P Scopton
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Frank Fonseca
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julia Nanyi Zhao
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Megan Schwarz
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Pedro Molina-Sanchez
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- The Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Slim Mzoughi
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elisa Arceci
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jordi Abril-Fornaguera
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Translational Research in Hepatic Oncology, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Austin Meadows
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Marina Ruiz de Galarreta
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- The Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Denis Torre
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kyna Reyes
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yan Ting Lim
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Felix Rosemann
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Zaigham M Khan
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kevin Mohammed
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA
| | - Xuedi Wang
- Bioinformatics for Next Generation Sequencing Shared Resource Facility, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Xufen Yu
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Manikandan Lakshmanan
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ravisankar Rajarethinam
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Soo Yong Tan
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jian Jin
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Augusto Villanueva
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Eleftherios Michailidis
- Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Ype P De Jong
- Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Charles M Rice
- Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ivan Marazzi
- Department of Biological Cancer, University of California Irvine, Orange, CA, USA
| | - Dan Hasson
- Bioinformatics for Next Generation Sequencing Shared Resource Facility, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Josep M Llovet
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
- Translational Research in Hepatic Oncology, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Radoslaw M Sobota
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Amaia Lujambio
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- The Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Ernesto Guccione
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Liver Cancer Program, Division of Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Center for OncoGenomics and Innovative Therapeutics, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- The Precision Immunology Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Bioinformatics for Next Generation Sequencing Shared Resource Facility, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Arvin C Dar
- Center for Therapeutics Discovery, Department of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
- Program in Chemical Biology, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Lv J, Wu Q, Li K, Bai K, Yu H, Zhuang J, Sun H, Yang H, Yang X, Lu Q. Lysine N-methyltransferase SETD7 promotes bladder cancer progression and immune escape via STAT3/PD-L1 cascade. Int J Biol Sci 2023; 19:3744-3761. [PMID: 37564199 PMCID: PMC10411476 DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.87182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: The immunotherapy sensitivity of patients with bladder cancer (BCa) remains low. As the role of protein methylation in tumorigenesis and development becomes clearer, the role of lysine N-methyltransferase SET domain containing 7 (SETD7) in the progression and immune escape of BCa is worth studying. Methods: The correlation between lysine methyltransferase family and prognosis or immunotheray sensitivity of BCa patients were analyzed, and SETD7 was screened out because of the significant correlation between its expression and survival data or immunotherapy sensitivity. The expression of SETD7 in BCa tissues and cell lines were explored. The functions of SETD7 were investigated by proliferation and migration assays. The role of SETD7 in BCa immune escape was validated by analyzing the correlation between SETD7 expression and tumor microenvironment (TME)-related indicators. The results were further confirmed by conducting BCa cell-CD8+ T cell co-culture assays and tumorigenesis experiment in human immune reconstitution NOG mice (HuNOG mice). Bioinformatic prediction, CO-IP, qRT-PCR, and western blot were used to validate the SETD7/STAT3/PD-L1 cascade. Results: SETD7 was highly expressed in BCa, and it was positively associated with high histological grade and worse prognosis. SETD7 promoted the proliferation and migration of BCa cells. The results of bioinformatics, in vitro co-culture, and in vivo tumorigenesis assays showed that SETD7 could inhibit the chemotoxis and cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells in BCa TME. Mechanistically, bioinformatics analysis, CO-IP assay, qRT-PCR, and western blot results indicated that SETD7 could increase the expression of PD-L1 via binding and promoting STAT3. Conclusions: Taken together, SETD7 indicated poor prognosis and promoted the progression and immune escape of BCa cells. It has great potential to act as a new indicator for BCa diagnosis and treatment, especially immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Haiwei Yang
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Xiao Yang
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Qiang Lu
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Jin ML, Jeong KW. Histone modifications in drug-resistant cancers: From a cancer stem cell and immune evasion perspective. Exp Mol Med 2023:10.1038/s12276-023-01014-z. [PMID: 37394580 PMCID: PMC10394043 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-023-01014-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 02/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The development and immune evasion of cancer stem cells (CSCs) limit the efficacy of currently available anticancer therapies. Recent studies have shown that epigenetic reprogramming regulates the expression of characteristic marker proteins and tumor plasticity associated with cancer cell survival and metastasis in CSCs. CSCs also possess unique mechanisms to evade external attacks by immune cells. Hence, the development of new strategies to restore dysregulated histone modifications to overcome cancer resistance to chemotherapy and immunotherapy has recently attracted attention. Restoring abnormal histone modifications can be an effective anticancer strategy to increase the therapeutic effect of conventional chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic drugs by weakening CSCs or by rendering them in a naïve state with increased sensitivity to immune responses. In this review, we summarize recent findings regarding the role of histone modifiers in the development of drug-resistant cancer cells from the perspectives of CSCs and immune evasion. In addition, we discuss attempts to combine currently available histone modification inhibitors with conventional chemotherapy or immunotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ming Li Jin
- Gachon Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, 191 Hambakmoero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 21936, Republic of Korea
| | - Kwang Won Jeong
- Gachon Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Gachon University, 191 Hambakmoero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 21936, Republic of Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Guo R, Li J, Hu J, Fu Q, Yan Y, Xu S, Wang X, Jiao F. Combination of epidrugs with immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer immunotherapy: From theory to therapy. Int Immunopharmacol 2023; 120:110417. [PMID: 37276826 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.110417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapy based on immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has revolutionized treatment strategies in multiple types of cancer. However, the resistance and relapse as associated with the extreme complexity of cancer-immunity interactions remain a major challenge to be resolved. Owing to the epigenome plasticity of cancer and immune cells, a growing body of evidence has been presented indicating that epigenetic treatments have the potential to overcome current limitations of immunotherapy, thus providing a rationalefor the combination of ICIs with epigenetic agents (epidrugs). In this review, we first make an overview about the epigenetic regulations in tumor biology and immunodevelopment. Subsequently, a diverse array of inhibitory agents under investigations targeted epigenetic modulators (Azacitidine, Decitabine, Vorinostat, Romidepsin, Belinostat, Panobinostat, Tazemetostat, Enasidenib and Ivosidenib, etc.) and immune checkpoints (Atezolizmab, Avelumab, Cemiplimab, Durvalumb, Ipilimumab, Nivolumab and Pembrolizmab, etc.) to increase anticancer responses were described and the potential mechanisms were further discussed. Finally, we summarize the findings of clinical trials and provide a perspective for future clinical studies directed at investigating the combination of epidrugs with ICIs as a treatment for cancer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruoyu Guo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, PR China
| | - Jixia Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Yantaishan Hospital, Yantai 264003, PR China
| | - Jinxia Hu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, PR China
| | - Qiang Fu
- School of Pharmacology, Institute of Aging Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, PR China
| | - Yunfei Yan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, PR China
| | - Sen Xu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, PR China
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory & Health Service Training, 970 Hospital of the PLA Joint Logistic Support Force, Yantai 264002, PR China.
| | - Fei Jiao
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai 264003, PR China.
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Wang B, Liu Y, Liao Z, Wu H, Zhang B, Zhang L. EZH2 in hepatocellular carcinoma: progression, immunity, and potential targeting therapies. Exp Hematol Oncol 2023; 12:52. [PMID: 37268997 DOI: 10.1186/s40164-023-00405-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death. The accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes is closely related to the occurrence and development of HCC. Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2, a histone methyltransferase) is suggested to be one of the principal factors that mediates oncogenesis by acting as a driver of epigenetic alternation. Recent studies show that EZH2 is widely involved in proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells. In this review, the functions of EZH2 in HCC progression, the role of EZH2 in tumor immunity and the application of EZH2-related inhibitors in HCC therapy are summarized.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bohan Wang
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Institute of Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Yachong Liu
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Institute of Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Zhibin Liao
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Institute of Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Haofeng Wu
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Institute of Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Bixiang Zhang
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Institute of Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
| | - Lei Zhang
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Institute of Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Shanxi Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Shanxi Medical University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan, 030032, China.
- Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases of Shanxi Province (Preparatory), Shanxi Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Shanxi Medical University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan, 030032, China.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Zhang Z, Zhang F, Pang P, Li Y, Chen X, Sun S, Bian Y. Identification of PANoptosis-relevant subgroups to evaluate the prognosis and immune landscape of patients with liver hepatocellular carcinoma. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1210456. [PMID: 37325556 PMCID: PMC10267832 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1210456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) is one of the most common malignant tumors, which is difficult to be diagnosed at an early stage due to its poor prognosis. Despite the fact that PANoptosis is important in the occurrence and development of tumors, no bioinformatic explanation related to PANoptosis in LIHC can be found. A bioinformatics analysis on the data of LIHC patients in TCGA database was carried out on the basis of previously identified PANoptosis-related genes (PRGs). LIHC patients were divided into two PRG clusters whose gene characteristics of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were discussed. According to DEGs, the patients were further divided into two DEG clusters, and prognostic-related DEGs (PRDEGs) were applied to risk score calculation, the latter of which turned out to be practical in identifying the relationship among risk score, patient prognosis, and immune landscape. The results suggested that PRGs and relevant clusters were bound up with the survival and immunity of patients. Moreover, the prognostic value based on two PRDEGs was evaluated, the risk scoring model was constructed, and the nomogram model for predicting the survival rate of patients was further developed. Therefore, it was found that the prognosis of the high-risk subgroup was poor. Additionally, three factors, namely, the abundance of immune cells, the expression of immune checkpoints, and immunotherapy and chemotherapy were considered to be associated with the risk score. RT-qPCR results indicated higher positive expression of CD8A and CXCL6 in both LIHC tissues and most human liver cancer cell lines. In summary, the results suggested that PANoptosis was bound up with LIHC-related survival and immunity. Two PRDEGs were identified as potential markers. Thus, the understanding of PANoptosis in LIHC was enriched, with some strategies provided for the clinical therapy of LIHC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhengwei Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology (The State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Feng Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology (The State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Ping Pang
- Department of Pharmacology (The State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yapeng Li
- Department of Pharmacology (The State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiaoning Chen
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Shibo Sun
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yu Bian
- Department of Pharmacology (The State-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education), College of Pharmacy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Shen C, Li M, Duan Y, Jiang X, Hou X, Xue F, Zhang Y, Luo Y. HDAC inhibitors enhance the anti-tumor effect of immunotherapies in hepatocellular carcinoma. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1170207. [PMID: 37304265 PMCID: PMC10250615 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1170207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common liver malignancy with a poor prognosis and increasing incidence, remains a serious health problem worldwide. Immunotherapy has been described as one of the ideal ways to treat HCC and is transforming patient management. However, the occurrence of immunotherapy resistance still prevents some patients from benefiting from current immunotherapies. Recent studies have shown that histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) can enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy in a variety of tumors, including HCC. In this review, we present current knowledge and recent advances in immunotherapy-based and HDACi-based therapies for HCC. We highlight the fundamental dynamics of synergies between immunotherapies and HDACis, further detailing current efforts to translate this knowledge into clinical benefits. In addition, we explored the possibility of nano-based drug delivery system (NDDS) as a novel strategy to enhance HCC treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chen Shen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical Equipment Innovation Research Center/Medical Device Regulatory Research and Evaluation Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Mei Li
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical Equipment Innovation Research Center/Medical Device Regulatory Research and Evaluation Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yujuan Duan
- School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xin Jiang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical Equipment Innovation Research Center/Medical Device Regulatory Research and Evaluation Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiaoming Hou
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical Equipment Innovation Research Center/Medical Device Regulatory Research and Evaluation Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Fulai Xue
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical Equipment Innovation Research Center/Medical Device Regulatory Research and Evaluation Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yinan Zhang
- School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yao Luo
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical Equipment Innovation Research Center/Medical Device Regulatory Research and Evaluation Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Chen Y, Shen X, Tang Y, Weng Y, Yang W, Liu M, Xu D, Shi J, Yang X, Yu F, Xu J, Zhang Z, Lu P, Sun Y, Xue J, Niu N. The diverse pancreatic tumor cell-intrinsic response to IFNγ is determined by epigenetic heterogeneity. Cancer Lett 2023; 562:216153. [PMID: 37023939 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
IFNγ signaling is mainly mediated through the activation of the canonical JAK-STAT signaling pathway, transcription factors, and epigenetic modifications. The activation of IFNγ signaling pathway may provide a novel option for tumor immunotherapy, but the outcomes remain controversial. In fact, recent studies suggest that the resistance to IFNγ-dependent immunotherapies is commonly derived from the tumor cell-intrinsic heterogeneity, the molecular mechanism of which remains elusive. Therefore, elucidating the tumor cell-intrinsic heterogeneity in response to IFNγ would be beneficial to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy. Here, we first delineated the epigenetic redistribution and transcriptome alteration in response to IFNγ stimulation, and demonstrated that ectopic gain of H3K4me3 and H3K27Ac at the promoter region mainly contributed to the enhancement of IFNγ-mediated transcriptional activity of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). Furthermore, we found that the cellular heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression in response to IFNγ was mainly attributed to cell-intrinsic H3K27me3 levels. Enhancement of H3K27me3 by GSK-J4 limited PD-L1hi tumor growth by salvaging the intratumoral cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells, which may provide therapeutic strategies to overcome immune escape and resistance to IFNγ-based immunotherapies in pancreatic cancer.
Collapse
|
27
|
Gong L, Huang D, Shi Y, Liang Z, Bu H. Regulated cell death in cancer: from pathogenesis to treatment. Chin Med J (Engl) 2023; 136:653-665. [PMID: 35950752 PMCID: PMC10129203 DOI: 10.1097/cm9.0000000000002239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACT Regulated cell death (RCD), including apoptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis, is regulated by a series of evolutionarily conserved pathways, and is required for development and tissue homeostasis. Based on previous genetic and biochemical explorations of cell death subroutines, the characteristics of each are generally considered distinctive. However, recent in-depth studies noted the presence of crosstalk between the different forms of RCD; hence, the concept of PANoptosis appeared. Cancer, a complex genetic disease, is characterized by stepwise deregulation of cell apoptosis and proliferation, with significant morbidity and mortality globally. At present, studies on the different RCD pathways, as well as the intricate relationships between different cell death subroutines, mainly focus on infectious diseases, and their roles in cancer remain unclear. As cancers are characterized by dysregulated cell death and inflammatory responses, most current treatment strategies aim to selectively induce cell death via different RCD pathways in cancer cells. In this review, we describe five types of RCD pathways in detail with respect to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. The potential value of some of these key effector molecules in tumor diagnosis and therapeutic response has also been raised. We then review and highlight recent progress in cancer treatment based on PANoptosis and ferroptosis induced by small-molecule compounds, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and nanoparticles. Together, these findings may provide meaningful evidence to fill in the gaps between cancer pathogenesis and RCD pathways to develop better cancer therapeutic strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Linjing Gong
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
- Institute of Clinical Pathology, Key Laboratory of Transplant Engineering and Immunology, NHC, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Dong Huang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
- Institute of Clinical Pathology, Key Laboratory of Transplant Engineering and Immunology, NHC, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Yujun Shi
- Institute of Clinical Pathology, Key Laboratory of Transplant Engineering and Immunology, NHC, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Zong’an Liang
- Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| | - Hong Bu
- Institute of Clinical Pathology, Key Laboratory of Transplant Engineering and Immunology, NHC, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
- Department of Pathology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Akce M, El-Rayes BF, Wajapeyee N. Combinatorial targeting of immune checkpoints and epigenetic regulators for hepatocellular carcinoma therapy. Oncogene 2023; 42:1051-1057. [PMID: 36854723 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-023-02646-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The five-year survival rate of patients with unresectable HCC is about 12%. The liver tumor microenvironment (TME) is immune tolerant and heavily infiltrated with immunosuppressive cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), in some cases, can reverse tumor cell immune evasion and enhance antitumor immunity. Rapidly evolving ICIs have expanded systemic treatment options in advanced HCC; however, single-agent ICIs achieve a limited 15-20% objective response rate in advanced HCC. Therefore, other combinatorial approaches that amplify the efficacy of ICIs or suppress other tumor-promoting pathways may enhance clinical outcomes. Epigenetic alterations (e.g., changes in chromatin states and non-genetic DNA modifications) have been shown to drive HCC tumor growth and progression as well as their response to ICIs. Recent studies have combined ICIs and epigenetic inhibitors in preclinical and clinical settings to contain several cancers, including HCC. In this review, we outline current ICI treatments for HCC, the mechanism behind their successes and failures, and how ICIs can be combined with distinct epigenetic inhibitors to increase the durability of ICIs and potentially treat "immune-cold" HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Akce
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center of University of Alabama at Birmingham, Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
| | - Bassel F El-Rayes
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center of University of Alabama at Birmingham, Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Narendra Wajapeyee
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center of University of Alabama at Birmingham, Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Gao K, Shi Q, Gu Y, Yang W, He Y, Lv Z, Ding Y, Cao W, Wang C, Wan X. SPOP mutations promote tumor immune escape in endometrial cancer via the IRF1-PD-L1 axis. Cell Death Differ 2023; 30:475-487. [PMID: 36481790 PMCID: PMC9950446 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-022-01097-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Blockade of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death 1 ligand (PD-L1) has evolved into one of the most promising immunotherapy strategies for cancer patients. Tumor cells frequently overexpress PD-L1 to evade T cell-mediated immune surveillance. However, the specific genetic alterations that drive aberrant overexpression of PD-L1 in cancer cells remain poorly understood. The gene encoding the E3 ubiquitin ligase substrate-binding adaptor SPOP is frequently mutated in endometrial cancer (EC). Here, we report that SPOP negatively regulates PD-L1 expression at the transcriptional level. Wild-type SPOP binds to IRF1, a primary transcription factor responsible for the inducible expression of PD-L1, and subsequently triggers its ubiquitin- proteasomal degradation to suppress IRF1-mediated transcriptional upregulation of PD-L1. In contrast, EC-associated SPOP mutants lose their capacity to degrade IRF1 but stabilize IRF1, and upregulate PD-L1 expression. EC-associated SPOP mutations accelerate xenograft tumor growth partially by increasing IRF1 and PD-L1 expression. Together, we identify SPOP as a negative regulator of the IRF1-PD-L1 axis and characterize the critical roles of IRF1 and PD-L1 in SPOP mutation-driven tumor immune evasion in EC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kun Gao
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
| | - Qing Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microorganisms, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Ye Gu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
- Department of Gynecology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Wanqi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microorganisms, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Yuanlong He
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microorganisms, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Zeheng Lv
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Yan Ding
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Wenxin Cao
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Chenji Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, MOE Engineering Research Center of Gene Technology, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microorganisms, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
| | - Xiaoping Wan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Shanghai Institute of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Gynecologic Oncology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
- Department of Gynecology, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Zhang Y, Chen J, Liu H, Mi R, Huang R, Li X, Fan F, Xie X, Ding J. The role of histone methylase and demethylase in antitumor immunity: A new direction for immunotherapy. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1099892. [PMID: 36713412 PMCID: PMC9874864 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1099892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic modifications may alter the proliferation and differentiation of normal cells, leading to malignant transformation. They can also affect normal stimulation, activation, and abnormal function of immune cells in the tissue microenvironment. Histone methylation, coordinated by histone methylase and histone demethylase to stabilize transcription levels in the promoter area, is one of the most common types of epigenetic alteration, which gained increasing interest. It can modify gene transcription through chromatin structure and affect cell fate, at the transcriptome or protein level. According to recent research, histone methylation modification can regulate tumor and immune cells affecting anti-tumor immune response. Consequently, it is critical to have a thorough grasp of the role of methylation function in cancer treatment. In this review, we discussed recent data on the mechanisms of histone methylation on factors associated with immune resistance of tumor cells and regulation of immune cell function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuanling Zhang
- School of Medicine, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China,Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Guiyang, China
| | - Junhao Chen
- Graduate School of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China
| | - Hang Liu
- Department of Medical Cosmetology, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Guiyang, China
| | - Rui Mi
- Department of General Surgery, Zhijin County People’s Hospital, Bijie, China
| | - Rui Huang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Guiyang, China
| | - Xian Li
- Orthopedics Department, Dongguan Songshan Lake Tungwah Hospital, DongGuan, China
| | - Fei Fan
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Panzhihua University, Panzhihua, China
| | - Xueqing Xie
- School of Medicine, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| | - Jie Ding
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital, Guiyang, China,*Correspondence: Jie Ding,
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Guizhen Z, Weiwei Z, Yun W, Guangying C, Yize Z, Zujiang Y. An anoikis-based signature for predicting prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma with machine learning. Front Pharmacol 2023; 13:1096472. [PMID: 36686684 PMCID: PMC9846167 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1096472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy with high mortality worldwide. Despite advancements in diagnosis and treatment in recent years, there is still an urgent unmet need to explore the underlying mechanisms and novel prognostic markers. Anoikis has received considerable attention because of its involvement in the progression of human malignancies. However, the potential mechanism of anoikis-related genes (ANRGs) involvement in HCC progression remains unclear. Methods: We use comprehensive bioinformatics analyses to determine the expression profile of ANRGs and their prognostic implications in HCC. Next, a risk score model was established by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) Cox regression analysis. Then, the prognostic value of the risk score in HCC and its correlation with clinical characteristics of HCC patients were further explored. Additionally, machine learning was utilized to identify the outstanding ANRGs to the risk score. Finally, the protein expression of DAP3 was examined on a tissue microarray (TMA), and the potential mechanisms of DAP3 in HCC was explored. Results: ANRGs were dysregulated in HCC, with a low frequency of somatic mutations and associated with prognosis of HCC patients. Then, nine ANRGs were selected to construct a risk score signature based on the LASSO model. The signature presented a strong ability of risk stratification and prediction for overall survival in HCC patients.Additionally, high risk scores were closely correlated with unfavorable clinical features such as advanced pathological stage, poor histological differentiation and vascular invasion. Moreover, The XGBoost algorithm verified that DAP3 was an important risk score contributor. Further immunohistochemistry determined the elevated expression of DAP3 in HCC tissues compared with nontumor tissues. Finally, functional analyses showed that DAP3 may promote HCC progression through multiple cancer-related pathways and suppress immune infiltration. Conclusion: In conclusion, the anoikis-based signature can be utilized as a novel prognostic biomarker for HCC, and DAP3 may play an important role in the development and progression of HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhang Guizhen
- Gene Hospital of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China,Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Zhu Weiwei
- Gene Hospital of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China,Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Wang Yun
- Gene Hospital of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China
| | | | - Zhang Yize
- Gene Hospital of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China,*Correspondence: Yu Zujiang, ; Zhang Yize,
| | - Yu Zujiang
- Gene Hospital of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China,*Correspondence: Yu Zujiang, ; Zhang Yize,
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Tao S, Liang S, Zeng T, Yin D. Epigenetic modification-related mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinoma resistance to immune checkpoint inhibition. Front Immunol 2023; 13:1043667. [PMID: 36685594 PMCID: PMC9845774 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1043667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) constitutes most primary liver cancers and is one of the most lethal and life-threatening malignancies globally. Unfortunately, a substantial proportion of HCC patients are identified at an advanced stage that is unavailable for curative surgery. Thus, palliative therapies represented by multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) sorafenib remained the front-line treatment over the past decades. Recently, the application of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), especially targeting the PD-1/PD-L1/CTLA-4 axis, has achieved an inspiring clinical breakthrough for treating unresectable solid tumors. However, many HCC patients with poor responses lead to limited benefits in clinical applications, which has quickly drawn researchers' attention to the regulatory mechanisms of immune checkpoints in HCC immune evasion. Evasion of immune surveillance by cancer is attributed to intricate reprogramming modulation in the tumor microenvironment. Currently, more and more studies have found that epigenetic modifications, such as chromatin structure remodeling, DNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications, and non-coding RNA levels, may contribute significantly to remodeling the tumor microenvironment to avoid immune clearance, affecting the efficacy of immunotherapy for HCC. This review summarizes the rapidly emerging progress of epigenetic-related changes during HCC resistance to ICIs and discusses the mechanisms of underlying epigenetic therapies available for surmounting immune resistance. Finally, we summarize the clinical advances in combining epigenetic therapies with immunotherapy, aiming to promote the formation of immune combination therapy strategies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shengwei Tao
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Shuhang Liang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Taofei Zeng
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Dalong Yin
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Attalla S, Taifour T, Muller W. Tailoring therapies to counter the divergent immune landscapes of breast cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1111796. [PMID: 36910138 PMCID: PMC9992199 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1111796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer remains a significant clinical concern affecting millions of women worldwide. Immunotherapy is a rapidly growing drug class that has revolutionized cancer treatment but remains marginally successful in breast cancer. The success of immunotherapy is dependent on the baseline immune responses as well as removing the brakes off pre-existing anti-tumor immunity. In this review, we summarize the different types of immune microenvironment observed in breast cancer as well as provide approaches to target these different immune subtypes. Such approaches have demonstrated pre-clinical success and are currently under clinical evaluation. The impact of combination of these approaches with already approved chemotherapies and immunotherapies may improve patient outcome and survival.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sherif Attalla
- Department Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Goodman Cancer Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Tarek Taifour
- Goodman Cancer Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Department Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - William Muller
- Department Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Goodman Cancer Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.,Department Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Xu Y, Cai J, Zhong K, Wen Y, Cai L, He G, Liao H, Zhang C, Fu S, Chen T, Cai J, Zhong X, Chen C, Huang M, Cheng Y, Pan M. Plasma-only circulating tumor DNA analysis detects minimal residual disease and predicts early relapse in hepatocellular carcinoma patients undergoing curative resection. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1119744. [PMID: 36959801 PMCID: PMC10028131 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1119744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Minimal residual disease (MRD) is considered an essential factor leading to relapse within 2 years (early relapse) after radical surgery, which is challenging to be detected by conventional imaging. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) provides a novel approach for detecting MRD and predicting clinical outcomes. Here, we tried to construct a fixed panel for plasma-only ctDNA NGS to enable tumor-uninformed MRD detection in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Here, we performed the followings: (i) profiling genomic alteration spectrum of ctDNA from the Chinese HCC cohort consisting of 493 individuals by NGS; (ii) screening of MRD monitoring genes; and (iii) performance evaluation of MRD monitoring genes in predicting early relapse in the ZJZS2020 cohort comprising 20 HCC patients who underwent curative resection. Results A total of 493 plasma samples from the Chinese HCC cohort were detected using a 381/733-gene NGS panel to characterize the mutational spectrum of ctDNA. Most patients (94.1%, 464/493) had at least one mutation in ctDNA. The variants fell most frequently in TP53 (45.1%), LRP1B (20.2%), TERT (20.2%), FAT1 (16.2%), and CTNNB1 (13.4%). By customized filtering strategy, 13 MRD monitoring genes were identified, and any plasma sample with one or more MRD monitoring gene mutations was considered MRD-positive. In the ZJZS2020 cohort, MRD positivity presented a sensitivity of 75% (6/8) and a specificity of 100% (6/6) in identifying early postoperative relapse. The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significantly short relapse-free survival (RFS; median RFS, 4.2 months vs. NR, P=0.002) in the MRD-positive patients versus those with MRD negativity. Cox regression analyses revealed MRD positivity as an independent predictor of poor RFS (HR 13.00, 95% CI 2.60-69.00, P=0.002). Conclusions We successfully developed a 13-gene panel for plasma-only MRD detection, which was effective and convenient for predicting the risk of early postoperative relapse in HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuyan Xu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jianpeng Cai
- Department of Pancreatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kaihang Zhong
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yaohong Wen
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lei Cai
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guolin He
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hangyu Liao
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Cheng Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shunjun Fu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tingting Chen
- Medical Affairs, 3D Medicines, Inc., Shanghai, China
| | - Jinping Cai
- Medical Affairs, 3D Medicines, Inc., Shanghai, China
| | - Xuefeng Zhong
- Medical Affairs, 3D Medicines, Inc., Shanghai, China
| | - Chunzhu Chen
- Medical Affairs, 3D Medicines, Inc., Shanghai, China
| | - Mengli Huang
- Medical Affairs, 3D Medicines, Inc., Shanghai, China
| | - Yuan Cheng
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Mingxin Pan, ; Yuan Cheng,
| | - Mingxin Pan
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery II, General Surgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Mingxin Pan, ; Yuan Cheng,
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Aravena TI, Valdés E, Ayala N, D’Afonseca V. A Computational Approach to Predict the Role of Genetic Alterations in Methyltransferase Histones Genes With Implications in Liver Cancer. Cancer Inform 2023; 22:11769351231161480. [PMID: 37008071 PMCID: PMC10064455 DOI: 10.1177/11769351231161480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Histone methyltransferases (HMTs) comprise a subclass of epigenetic regulators. Dysregulation of these enzymes results in aberrant epigenetic regulation, commonly observed in various tumor types, including hepatocellular adenocarcinoma (HCC). Probably, these epigenetic changes could lead to tumorigenesis processes. To predict how histone methyltransferase genes and their genetic alterations (somatic mutations, somatic copy number alterations, and gene expression changes) are involved in hepatocellular adenocarcinoma processes, we performed an integrated computational analysis of genetic alterations in 50 HMT genes present in hepatocellular adenocarcinoma. Biological data were obtained through the public repository with 360 samples from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Through these biological data, we identified 10 HMT genes (SETDB1, ASH1L, SMYD2, SMYD3, EHMT2, SETD3, PRDM14, PRDM16, KMT2C, and NSD3) with a significant genetic alteration rate (14%) within 360 samples. Of these 10 HMT genes, KMT2C and ASH1L have the highest mutation rate in HCC samples, 5.6% and 2.8%, respectively. Regarding somatic copy number alteration, ASH1L and SETDB1 are amplified in several samples, while SETD3, PRDM14, and NSD3 showed a high rate of large deletion. Finally, SETDB1, SETD3, PRDM14, and NSD3 could play an important role in the progression of hepatocellular adenocarcinoma since alterations in these genes lead to a decrease in patient survival, unlike patients who present these genes without genetic alterations. Our computational analysis provides new insights that help to understand how HMTs are associated with hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as provide a basis for future experimental investigations using HMTs as genetic targets against hepatocellular carcinoma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tania Isabella Aravena
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Elizabeth Valdés
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Nicolás Ayala
- Departamento de Genética, Microbiología y Estadística, Universidad de Barcelona, España
| | - Vívian D’Afonseca
- Departamento de Ciencias Preclínicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
- Vívian D’Afonseca, Universidad Católica del Maule, Av. San Miguel 3605, Talca, 3460000, Chile.
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Wang Z, Guo Z, Wang X, Liao H, Chai Y, Wang Z, Wang Z. Inhibition of EZH2 Ameliorates Sepsis Acute Lung Injury (SALI) and Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Proliferation through the PD-L1 Pathway. Cells 2022; 11:cells11243958. [PMID: 36552722 PMCID: PMC9777373 DOI: 10.3390/cells11243958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Both sepsis acute lung injury (SALI) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are life-threatening diseases caused by immune response disorders and inflammation, but the underlining linking mechanisms are still not clear. This study aimed to detect the shared gene signature and potential molecular process between SALI and NSCLC. (2) Methods: RNA sequences and patient information on sepsis and NSCLC were acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to build a co-expression network associated with sepsis and NSCLC. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis of shared genes was intuitively performed by the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database. The involvement of EZH2 in the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and sepsis immune microenvironment (IME) was assessed by R software. Western blot, flow cytometry, and other in vitro assays were performed to further confirm the function and mechanism of EZH2 in NSCLC and SALI. (3) Results: WGCNA recognized three major modules for sepsis and two major modules for NSCLC, and there were seven shared genes identified for the two diseases. Additionally, the hub gene EZH2 was screened out. It was shown that EZH2 was closely related to the IME in the two diseases. In the validation assay, our data showed that EZH2 was expressed at a higher level in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of septic patients than those of healthy donors (HDs), and EZH2 was also expressed at a higher level in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced PBMCs and non-small cell lung cancer (A549) cells. EZH2 inhibitor (GSK343) downregulated the proliferation ability of A549 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, parallel with the decreased expression level of PD-L1. Similarly, GSK343 inhibited PD-L1 protein expression and downregulated the level of proinflammatory factors in LPS-induced PBMCs. In the co-culture system of PBMCs and human type II alveolar epithelial cells (ATIIs), the addition of GSK343 to PBMCs significantly downregulated the apoptosis of LPS-induced ATIIs. (4) Conclusions: This study illustrated that EZH2 inhibition could ameliorate A549 cell proliferation and LPS-induced ATII apoptosis in parallel with downregulation of PD-L1 protein expression, which provided new insights into molecular signaling networks involved in the pathogenetics of SALI and NSCLC.
Collapse
|
37
|
Harkus U, Wankell M, Palamuthusingam P, McFarlane C, Hebbard L. Immune checkpoint inhibitors in HCC: Cellular, molecular and systemic data. Semin Cancer Biol 2022; 86:799-815. [PMID: 35065242 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2022.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths in the world, and for patients with advanced disease there are few therapeutic options available. The complex immunological microenvironment of HCC and the success of immunotherapy in several types of tumours, has raised the prospect of potential benefit for immune based therapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), in HCC. This has led to significant breakthrough research, numerous clinical trials and the rapid approval of multiple systemic drugs for HCC by regulatory bodies worldwide. Although some patients responded well to ICIs, many have failed to achieve significant benefit, while others showed unexpected and paradoxical deterioration. The aim of this review is to discuss the pathophysiology of HCC, the tumour microenvironment, key clinical trials evaluating ICIs in HCC, various resistance mechanisms to ICIs, and possible ways to overcome these impediments to improve patient outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Uasim Harkus
- Townsville University Hospital, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Miriam Wankell
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine and Health, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Pranavan Palamuthusingam
- College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia; Townsville University Hospital, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia; Mater Hospital, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Craig McFarlane
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine and Health, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
| | - Lionel Hebbard
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine and Health, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia; Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2145, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Nagaraju GP, Malla RR, Basha R, Motofei IG. Contemporary clinical trials in pancreatic cancer immunotherapy targeting PD-1 and PD-L1. Semin Cancer Biol 2022; 86:616-621. [PMID: 34774995 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2021.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a major gastrointestinal cancer in terms of worldwide incidence and mortality. Despite advances in diagnostic and treatment modalities, the mortality of PC is still a serious concern in both sexes. Immune therapy using inhibitors of immune checkpoints, especially inhibitors of programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death ligand-1(PD-1/PD-L1), offer huge benefits to cancer patients. This review describes an up-to-date information on the role of PD-1 and PD-L1 in the development of immune tolerance in PC alongside the current clinical trials and the known outcomes citing the available literature. We also included the details on PD-1/PD-L1-mediated signalling in maintenance of PC stem cells and metastasis. We reviewed the critical information on safety, tolerance, and efficacy of clinically important regimens of PD-1/PD-L1 blocking agents and targeted therapeutics. This review elucidates the underlying mechanisms of PD-1/PD-L1 alliance in tolerance of the immune system, maintenance of stem cells, and metastasis promotion as well as design regimens with high safety and excellent tolerability and efficacy for management of PC in advanced stages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ganji Purnachandra Nagaraju
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Rama Rao Malla
- Cancer Biology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Bioinformatics, Institute of Science, GITAM (Deemed to be University), Visakhapatnam, AP, 530045, India
| | - Riyaz Basha
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas, Department of Pediatrics and Women's Health, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, The University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, United States
| | - Ion G Motofei
- Department of Oncology/ Surgery, St. Pantelimon Hospital, Carol Davila University, Dionisie Lupu Street, No. 37, Bucharest, 020022, Romania.
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Xiong J, Wang QQ. Mechanisms and strategies to overcome immunotherapy resistance in hepatobiliary malignancies. Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int 2022; 21:430-439. [PMID: 35907687 DOI: 10.1016/j.hbpd.2022.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Unprecedented advances have been achieved in hepatobiliary cancer treatment with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). However, the efficacy of ICB in patients with hepatobiliary malignancies is still limited. Resistance to immunotherapies is often orchestrated by complicated tumor-host-microenvironment interactions but could also occur after initial efficacy, mostly when only partial responses are obtained. Clarification of cancer-resistance mechanisms will be beneficial to provide the rationale for the administration of personalized drugs. Here, we review the factors related to resistance to immune-targeted therapies in hepatobiliary malignancies and discuss the potential strategies for overcoming resistance and future directions of immunotherapy development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jia Xiong
- Institute of Immunology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; The Key Laboratory for Immunity and Inflammatory Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Qing-Qing Wang
- Institute of Immunology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China; The Key Laboratory for Immunity and Inflammatory Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
German B, Ellis L. Polycomb Directed Cell Fate Decisions in Development and Cancer. EPIGENOMES 2022; 6:28. [PMID: 36135315 PMCID: PMC9497807 DOI: 10.3390/epigenomes6030028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The polycomb group (PcG) proteins are a subset of transcription regulators highly conserved throughout evolution. Their principal role is to epigenetically modify chromatin landscapes and control the expression of master transcriptional programs to determine cellular identity. The two mayor PcG protein complexes that have been identified in mammals to date are Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1) and 2 (PRC2). These protein complexes selectively repress gene expression via the induction of covalent post-translational histone modifications, promoting chromatin structure stabilization. PRC2 catalyzes the histone H3 methylation at lysine 27 (H3K27me1/2/3), inducing heterochromatin structures. This activity is controlled by the formation of a multi-subunit complex, which includes enhancer of zeste (EZH2), embryonic ectoderm development protein (EED), and suppressor of zeste 12 (SUZ12). This review will summarize the latest insights into how PRC2 in mammalian cells regulates transcription to orchestrate the temporal and tissue-specific expression of genes to determine cell identity and cell-fate decisions. We will specifically describe how PRC2 dysregulation in different cell types can promote phenotypic plasticity and/or non-mutational epigenetic reprogramming, inducing the development of highly aggressive epithelial neuroendocrine carcinomas, including prostate, small cell lung, and Merkel cell cancer. With this, EZH2 has emerged as an important actionable therapeutic target in such cancers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz German
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Leigh Ellis
- Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
- Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
- Center for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Lin XH, Zhang DY, Liu ZY, Tang WQ, Chen RX, Li DP, Weng S, Dong L. lncRNA-AC079061.1/VIPR1 axis may suppress the development of hepatocellular carcinoma: a bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation. Lab Invest 2022; 20:379. [PMID: 36038907 PMCID: PMC9422102 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-022-03573-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most malignant tumors to threaten human life, and the survival rate remains low due to delayed diagnosis. Meanwhile, lncRNAs have great potential for application in tumor prognosis, therefore relevant research in hepatocellular carcinoma is indispensable. Methods Based on the EZH2 expression, the differentially expressed lncRNAs DElncRNAs), miRNAs (DEmiRNAs), and mRNAs (DEmRNAs) were identified in hepatocellular carcinoma by using the TCGA database. Bioinformatics technology was utilized to determine the effect of key genes in HCC progression. The methylation and immune infiltration analyses were performed to explore the underlying function of hub genes. Finally, cellular function experiments were performed to investigate the association between identified genes and biological phenotypes in HCC. Results lncRNA-AC079061.1, hsa-miR-765, and VIPR1 were identified as independent factors that affect the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. The immune infiltration analyses revealed that lncRNA-AC079061.1 can alter the immune microenvironment and thus inhibit the development of HCC by regulating the expression of an immune-related gene (VIPR1). Methylation analyses demonstrated that VIPR1 expression is negatively related to the methylation level in HCC. Experimental results suggested that lncRNA-AC079061.1 and VIPR1 were frequently downregulated in HCC cells, while hsa-miR-765 was significantly upregulated. Moreover, the lncRNA-AC079061.1/VIPR1 axis suppressed the proliferation and invasion of HCC cells. Conclusion The present study identified the lncRNA-AC079061.1/VIPR1 axis as a novel biomarker that inhibited the proliferation and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma, affecting the ultimate disease outcome. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-022-03573-7.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xia-Hui Lin
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.,Shanghai Institute of Liver Disease, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Dan-Ying Zhang
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.,Shanghai Institute of Liver Disease, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Zhi-Yong Liu
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.,Shanghai Institute of Liver Disease, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Wen-Qing Tang
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.,Shanghai Institute of Liver Disease, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Rong-Xin Chen
- Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University and Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Dong-Ping Li
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.,Shanghai Institute of Liver Disease, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Shuqiang Weng
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China. .,Shanghai Institute of Liver Disease, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Ling Dong
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China. .,Shanghai Institute of Liver Disease, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Four-gene signature predicting overall survival and immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma by bioinformatics analysis with RT‒qPCR validation. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:830. [PMID: 35907846 PMCID: PMC9338612 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09934-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most lethal cancers, with a poor prognosis. Prognostic biomarkers for HCC patients are urgently needed. We aimed to establish a nomogram prediction system that combines a gene signature to predict HCC prognosis. Methods Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from publicly available Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort and International Cancer Genomics Consortium (ICGC) cohort were regarded as the training cohort and testing cohort, respectively. First, univariate and multivariate Cox analyses and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression Cox analysis were performed to construct a predictive risk score signature. Furthermore, a nomogram system containing a risk score and other prognostic factors was developed. In addition, a correlation analysis of risk group and immune infiltration was performed. Finally, we validated the expression levels using real-time PCR. Results Ninety-five overlapping DEGs were identified from four GEO datasets, and we constructed a four-gene-based risk score predictive model (risk score = EZH2 * 0.075 + FLVCR1 * 0.086 + PTTG1 * 0.015 + TRIP13 * 0.020). Moreover, this signature was an independent prognostic factor. Next, the nomogram system containing risk score, sex and TNM stage indicated better predictive performance than independent prognostic factors alone. Moreover, this signature was significantly associated with immune cells, such as regulatory T cells, resting NK cells and M2 macrophages. Finally, RT‒PCR confirmed that the mRNA expressions of four genes were upregulated in most HCC cell lines. Conclusion We developed and validated a nomogram system containing the four-gene risk score, sex, and TNM stage to predict prognosis.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09934-1.
Collapse
|
43
|
Liu Z, Yu X, Xu L, Li Y, Zeng C. Current insight into the regulation of PD-L1 in cancer. Exp Hematol Oncol 2022; 11:44. [PMID: 35907881 PMCID: PMC9338491 DOI: 10.1186/s40164-022-00297-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The molecular mechanisms underlying cancer immune escape are a core topic in cancer immunology research. Cancer cells can escape T cell-mediated cellular cytotoxicity by exploiting the inhibitory programmed cell-death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1, CD274) immune checkpoint. Studying the PD-L1 regulatory pattern of tumor cells will help elucidate the molecular mechanisms of tumor immune evasion and improve cancer treatment. Recent studies have found that tumor cells regulate PD-L1 at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational levels and influence the anti-tumor immune response by regulating PD-L1. In this review, we focus on the regulation of PD-L1 in cancer cells and summarize the underlying mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhuandi Liu
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Jinan University, No.601, West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou, 510632, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, 510632, Guangdong, China
| | - Xibao Yu
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Jinan University, No.601, West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou, 510632, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, 510632, Guangdong, China
| | - Ling Xu
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Jinan University, No.601, West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou, 510632, Guangzhou, China.,Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, 510632, Guangdong, China
| | - Yangqiu Li
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Jinan University, No.601, West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou, 510632, Guangzhou, China. .,Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, 510632, Guangdong, China.
| | - Chengwu Zeng
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Institute of Hematology, School of Medicine, Jinan University, No.601, West Huangpu Avenue, Guangzhou, 510632, Guangzhou, China. .,Key Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine of Ministry of Education, Jinan University, 510632, Guangdong, China.
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Identification of a Necroptosis-Related Prognostic Signature and Associated Regulatory Axis in Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma. DISEASE MARKERS 2022; 2022:3968303. [PMID: 35855852 PMCID: PMC9288334 DOI: 10.1155/2022/3968303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Background Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) ranks the sixth in global cancer incidence with poor prognosis. Necroptosis is a kind of regulated cell death and has been proved to be of significance in cancer occurrence and progression. However, few studies comprehensively discuss the potential applications of necroptosis-related genes (NRGs) in the prognostic evaluation and immunotherapy of LIHC. Methods The prognostic signature in the present study was built up using LASSO Cox regression analysis. Integrated bioinformatics tools were utilized to explore the potential mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA regulatory axis in LIHC. Furthermore, qRT-PCR method was used to verify the EZH2 expression in LIHC tissues. Furthermore, prognostic performance of EZH2 in LIHC was assessed by Kaplan-Meier method. Results A total of 14 NRGs were differentially expressed in LIHC tissues. The overall genetic mutation status of these NRGs in LIHC was also shown. NRGs were significantly correlated with programmed necrotic cell death, as well as Toll-like receptor signaling pathway in GO and KEGG pathway analysis. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that ALDH2, EZH2, NDRG2, PGAM5, RIPK1, and TRAF2 were related to the prognosis. A prognostic signature was constructed by these six genes and showed medium to high accuracy in the prediction of LIHC patients' prognosis. Further analysis revealed that NRGs were correlated with pathological stage, immune infiltration, and drug resistance in LIHC. Moreover, we identified a potential lncRNA TUG1/miR-26b-5p/EZH2 regulatory axis in LIHC, which might affect the progression of LIHC. qRT-PCR suggested a higher mRNA level of EZH2 in LIHC tissues. And a poor overall survival rate was detected in LIHC patients with high EZH2 expression. Moreover, EZH2 expression and cancer stage were identified as the independent risk factors affecting LIHC patients' prognosis. Conclusion In the present study, we conducted comprehensive bioinformatic analyses and built up a necroptosis-related prognostic signature containing four genes (ALDH2, EZH2, NDRG2, and PGAM5) for patients with LIHC, and this prognostic signature showed a medium to high predictive accuracy. And our study also identified a lncRNA TUG1/miR-26b-5p/EZH2 regulatory axis, which might be of great significance in LIHC progression. In addition, based on the data from our center, the result of qRT-PCR and survival analysis showed a higher mRNA level of EZH2 in LIHC tissues and an unfavorable prognosis in high EZH2 expression group, respectively.
Collapse
|
45
|
Numata Y, Akutsu N, Ishigami K, Koide H, Wagatsuma K, Motoya M, Sasaki S, Nakase H. Synergistic effect of IFN-γ and IL-1β on PD-L1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma. Biochem Biophys Rep 2022; 30:101270. [PMID: 35573813 PMCID: PMC9095738 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2022.101270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy using anti-programmed death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibodies has shown clinical efficacy against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is recognized as the first-line treatment for unresectable HCC. PD-L1 expression is affected by various cytokines produced by immune cells in the tumor microenvironment; however, there is limited information about the effects of cytokine interactions on PD-L1 expression. In this study, we examined how cytokines induce PD-L1 expression in HCC cells. Both interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) induced PD-L1 expression, and the two cytokines enhanced PD-L1 expression in combination compared to that when administered alone. The Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling pathway activated by IFN-γ is the major pathway of PD-L1 expression. The increase in interferon regulatory factor 1 expression and IFN-γ receptor expression induced by IL-1β was associated with the synergistic effect of IFN-γ and IL-1β on PD-L1 expression. These findings strongly indicate that IFN-γ and IL-1β affect the mechanism underlying immune resistance in HCC cells. IFN-γ and IL-1β synergistically increase the expression of PD-L1 in HCC cells. IFN-γ enhances PD-L1 expression via STAT1 signaling. IL-1β enhances PD-L1 expression via the NF-κB and the p38 MAPK pathways. IRF-1 and IFNGR also contribute to the synergistic effect of IFN-γ and IL-1β in HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Noriyuki Akutsu
- Corresponding author. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine S-1, W-16, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, 060-8543, Japan.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
46
|
Pharmacological manipulation of Ezh2 with salvianolic acid B results in tumor vascular normalization and synergizes with cisplatin and T cell-mediated immunotherapy. Pharmacol Res 2022; 182:106333. [PMID: 35779815 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Tumor vasculature is characterized by aberrant structure and function, resulting in immune suppressive profiles of tumor microenvironment (TME) through limiting immune cell infiltration into tumors. The defective vascular perfusion in tumors also impairs the delivery and efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents. Targeting abnormal tumor blood vessels has emerged as an effective therapeutic strategy to improve the outcome of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. In this study, we demonstrated that Salvianolic acid B (SalB), one of the major ingredients of Salvia miltiorriza elicited vascular normalization in the mouse models of breast cancer, contributing to improved delivery and response of chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin as well as attenuated metastasis. Moreover, SalB in combination with anti-PD-L1 blockade retarded tumor growth, which was mainly due to elevated infiltration of immune effector cells and boosted delivery of anti-PD-L1 into tumors. Mechanistically, tumor cell enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (Ezh2)-driven cytokines disrupted the endothelial junctions with diminished VE-cadherin expression, which could be rescued in the presence of SalB. The restored vascular integrity by SalB via modulating the interactions between tumor cells and endothelial cells (ECs) offered a principal route for achieving vascular normalization. Taken together, our data elucidated that SalB enhanced sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy and immunotherapy through triggering tumor vascular normalization, providing a potential therapeutic strategy of combining SalB and chemotherapy or immunotherapy for patients with breast cancer.
Collapse
|
47
|
Jin X, Song Y, An Z, Wu S, Cai D, Fu Y, Zhang C, Chen L, Tang W, Zheng Z, Lu H, Lian J. A Predictive Model for Prognosis and Therapeutic Response in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on a Panel of Three MED8-Related Immunomodulators. Front Oncol 2022; 12:868411. [PMID: 35558516 PMCID: PMC9086905 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.868411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The current tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) system is limited in predicting the survival and guiding the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients since the TNM system only focuses on the anatomical factors, regardless of the intratumoral molecule heterogeneity. Besides, the landscape of intratumoral immune genes has emerged as a prognostic indicator. The mediator complex subunit 8 (MED8) is a major polymerase regulator and has been described as an oncogene in renal cell carcinoma, but its pathophysiological significance of HCC and its contribution to the prognosis of HCC remain unclear. Here, we aimed to discuss the expression profile and clinical correlation of MED8 in HCC and construct a predictive model based on MED8-related immunomodulators as a supplement to the TNM system. According to our analyses, MED8 was overexpressed in HCC tissues and increased expression of MED8 was an indicator of poor outcome in HCC. The knockdown of MED8 weakened the proliferation, colony forming, and migration of HepG2 and Huh7 cells. Subsequently, a predictive model was identified based on a panel of three MED8-related immunomodulators using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and further validated in International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) database. The combination of the predictive model and the TNM system could improve the performance in predicting the survival of HCC patients. High-risk patients had poor overall survival in TCGA and ICGC databases, as well as in subgroup analysis with early clinicopathology classification. It was also found that high-risk patients had a higher probability of recurrence in TCGA cohort. Furthermore, low-risk score indicated a better response to immunotherapy and drug therapy. This predictive model can be served as a supplement to the TNM system and may have implications in prognosis stratification and therapeutic guidance for HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojun Jin
- School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Department of Cardiovasology, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Central Laboratory, Ningbo Institute of Innovation for Combined Medicine and Engineering, Ningbo, China
| | - Yongfei Song
- Department of Cardiovasology, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Central Laboratory, Ningbo Institute of Innovation for Combined Medicine and Engineering, Ningbo, China
| | - Zhanglu An
- Graduate School, Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou, China.,Department of Pathology, Taizhou Central Hospital (Taizhou University Affiliated Hospital), Taizhou, China
| | - Shanshan Wu
- School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Dihui Cai
- School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Yin Fu
- School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | | | - Lichao Chen
- School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Wen Tang
- School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Zequn Zheng
- School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Hongsheng Lu
- Department of Pathology, Taizhou Central Hospital (Taizhou University Affiliated Hospital), Taizhou, China
| | - Jiangfang Lian
- School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Department of Cardiovasology, The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.,Central Laboratory, Ningbo Institute of Innovation for Combined Medicine and Engineering, Ningbo, China
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Zeng J, Zhang J, Sun Y, Wang J, Ren C, Banerjee S, Ouyang L, Wang Y. Targeting EZH2 for cancer therapy: From current progress to novel strategies. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 238:114419. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
49
|
Sun Z, Xue C, Li J, Zhao H, Du Y, Du N. LINC00244 suppresses cell growth and metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma by downregulating programmed cell death ligand 1. Bioengineered 2022; 13:7635-7647. [PMID: 35266439 PMCID: PMC8974003 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2022.2050073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in suppressing antitumor immune responses has been widely reported, and recent studies showed that PD-L1 also plays an important role in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), determination of tumor cell phenotypes, metastasis, and drug resistance. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in a variety of epigenetic regulatory processes. The tumorigenesis and development of most cancers cannot be studied separately from their regulation by lncRNAs. To explore the epigenetic regulation of PD-L1, we identified an lncRNA, LINC00244, which reduced PD-L1 expression and predicted good clinical outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). LINC00244 inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of HCC by downregulating PD-L1 expression. In addition, low LINC00244 expression activated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathways and facilitated the rapid growth and metastasis of HCC cells. Thus, LINC00244 is a potential therapeutic target for HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhijia Sun
- Department of Oncology, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Chunyuan Xue
- Department of Genetic Engineering Lab, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Jiangbo Li
- Department of Genetic Engineering Lab, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Hui Zhao
- Department of Oncology, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Yimeng Du
- Department of Genetic Engineering Lab, Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Nan Du
- Department of Oncology, Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Mirzaei S, Gholami MH, Hushmandi K, Hashemi F, Zabolian A, Canadas I, Zarrabi A, Nabavi N, Aref AR, Crea F, Wang Y, Ashrafizadeh M, Kumar AP. The long and short non-coding RNAs modulating EZH2 signaling in cancer. J Hematol Oncol 2022; 15:18. [PMID: 35236381 PMCID: PMC8892735 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-022-01235-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a large family of RNA molecules with no capability in encoding proteins. However, they participate in developmental and biological processes and their abnormal expression affects cancer progression. These RNA molecules can function as upstream mediators of different signaling pathways and enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is among them. Briefly, EZH2 belongs to PRCs family and can exert functional roles in cells due to its methyltransferase activity. EZH2 affects gene expression via inducing H3K27me3. In the present review, our aim is to provide a mechanistic discussion of ncRNAs role in regulating EZH2 expression in different cancers. MiRNAs can dually induce/inhibit EZH2 in cancer cells to affect downstream targets such as Wnt, STAT3 and EMT. Furthermore, miRNAs can regulate therapy response of cancer cells via affecting EZH2 signaling. It is noteworthy that EZH2 can reduce miRNA expression by binding to promoter and exerting its methyltransferase activity. Small-interfering RNA (siRNA) and short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) are synthetic, short ncRNAs capable of reducing EZH2 expression and suppressing cancer progression. LncRNAs mainly regulate EZH2 expression via targeting miRNAs. Furthermore, lncRNAs induce EZH2 by modulating miRNA expression. Circular RNAs (CircRNAs), like lncRNAs, affect EZH2 expression via targeting miRNAs. These areas are discussed in the present review with a focus on molecular pathways leading to clinical translation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sepideh Mirzaei
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Kiavash Hushmandi
- Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Division of Epidemiology and Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farid Hashemi
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, 1417466191, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amirhossein Zabolian
- Department of Orthopedics, School of Medicine, 5th Azar Hospital, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Golestan, Iran
| | - Israel Canadas
- Blood Cell Development and Function Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ali Zarrabi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istinye University, Istanbul, 34396, Turkey
| | - Noushin Nabavi
- Department of Urological Sciences and Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6H3Z6, Canada
| | - Amir Reza Aref
- Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Translational Sciences, Xsphera Biosciences Inc., Boston, MA, USA
| | - Francesco Crea
- Cancer Research Group-School of Life Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
| | - Yuzhuo Wang
- Department of Urological Sciences and Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6H3Z6, Canada.
| | - Milad Ashrafizadeh
- Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Orta Mahalle, Üniversite Caddesi No. 27, Orhanlı, Tuzla, Istanbul, 34956, Turkey.
| | - Alan Prem Kumar
- Cancer Science Institute of Singapore and Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117599, Singapore.
- NUS Centre for Cancer Research (N2CR), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
| |
Collapse
|